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ISRAEL21c > Technology > ‘DreamBox’ surveillance system from Israel protects American water supply

‘DreamBox’ surveillance system from Israel protects American water supply

Magal CEO Izhar Dekel: While traditional perimeter protection measures, such as fence and ground sensors, are not viable in this environment, risk can still be mitigated by leveraging advanced ‘Intelligent Video’ for perimeter protection.If you were an industrial terrorist aiming …

Magal CEO Izhar Dekel: While traditional perimeter protection measures, such as fence and ground sensors, are not viable in this environment, risk can still be mitigated by leveraging advanced ‘Intelligent Video’ for perimeter protection.If you were an industrial terrorist aiming to harm a civilian American population center, what target would you choose? Water supplies would be a natural choice, which is why the Homeland Security Department and other federal and local agencies are utilizing the most advanced security measures to protect those sites from sabotage.

That’s also why a major water authority based on the east coast of the US has selected an Israeli-developed solution to safeguard the utility’s multiple sites from hazardous threats and malicious activity.

“Water supplies are particularly vulnerable to hazardous threats – ranging from terrorist attacks to accidental contamination. While traditional perimeter protection measures, such as fence and ground sensors, are not viable in this environment, risk can still be mitigated by leveraging advanced ‘Intelligent Video’ for perimeter protection,” said Dekel.

Since 1969, Magal Security Systems, Ltd. has been engaged in the development, manufacturing and marketing of computerized security systems, which automatically detect, locate and identify the nature of unauthorized intrusions.

“Magal has always been an expert in security ? and now with the DreamBox and our incorporation of video, it brings us to a higher level of dealing with security issues, and also to a higher level of dealing with the security market,” he told ISRAEL21c.

Dekel said that the US utility will benefit because DreamBox includes intelligent video analysis, digital recording, security management and seamless integration with other security technologies, such as radar-based sensors.

Although the two-year-old DreamBox has been deployed in the international markets, the US order is a big step in the product’s development, said Dekel.

“We tested the DreamBox at a number of US locations to receive validation – something very important if you want to create a market in a place like the US. We’ve sold many systems throughout the world, but this is our first in the US, and of course, it’s very significant for us,” he said.

The Magal Group is the leading manufacturer in the field of ‘outdoor perimeter protection’ worldwide. Founded as a department of the Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), Magal has shown steady growth, and in 1984 was established as a private company, with 26% of the shares still held by IAI. The company went public in 1993 with an IPO on NASDAQ, and a second offering was made in 1997.

The company’s products are currently used in more than 70 countries worldwide to protect national borders, airports, correctional facilities, nuclear power stations and other sensitive facilities from terrorism, theft and other threats. Based in the Tel Aviv suburb of Yehud, Magal has subsidiaries in the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, Romania, Mexico and an office in China.

Today, with over 10,000 miles of its systems installed worldwide, the Magal Group has a 40% share in the worldwide market for Perimeter Intrusion Detection Systems, and the company’s consolidated revenues in the year 2004 were $61m.

“Our uniqueness is that for 40 years now, we’ve focused on security, not just technology, and not just video,” said Dekel. “Video is one more technology in our basket of goods. We have many other abilities to integrate all our sensors into one comprehensive solution.

“I think that our understanding of the security market gives us an advantage to fit systems to the client and to understand our clients’ needs much better.”